How to connect two computers to a broadband modem

How to connect two computers to a broadband modem

If you have a broadband modem or one that is supplied from your internet service provider (ISP) you can most probably connect two computers to it without needing a router. If you look at the picture of my modem below, it has a USB (blue) and a ETHERNET (yellow) port. Of course there are many other ways to connect two computers together to share files or an internet connection, however this article is about connecting two computers to one modem.

My service provider, Telstra Australia, supplied this modem to me. It came with an installation disc, which you should use to connect to the modem through the USB.

Now if you do not have a router, but have a similar modem to the one shown, you can connect two computers off the one broadband modem and thus both accessing the internet.

One computer can connect through the USB port and the other through the Ethernet.

A USB cable and and Ethernet cable come with the modem, however to connect the second computer you may need to buy a longer Ethernet cable. Get a blue cable.. NOT yellow or red. The blue one is a CROSSOVER cable, the others will be PATCH cables. They have the same connections on them but do entirely different jobs. (this color coding applies in Australia, I don’t know about other countries.)